Hollywood Actress
by LadyBrannon
Summary: AU/AH - Bella Swan is a famous Hollywood actress, but she doesn't have everything. She's missing something very important - the love of Edward Cullen, her best friend from childhood. Is it too much to ask for everything?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_** I have no rights to the Twilight franchise. I am writing this for my own writing pleasure, am making no monies, and I intend no harm. **

Edward Cullen and I have known each other since we were three years old. My mom and his mom were the best of friends in a little town called Forks- so little that its claim to fame is that it's the rainiest place in the continental U.S. Because of that, Edward and I spent a lot of time together. In fact, for as long as I can remember, Edward has always been there. From the time that I scratched my knee while trying to learn how to ride a bike to the day I got my first part in a major motion picture.

You see, I am Bella Swan, famous Hollywood actress. I have millions of fans. I have thousands of shoes. I have hundreds of dresses. I have two homes, but I have only one Edward. And he's mine. Or, I used to think he was; however, recent events have made me wonder about a lot of things concerning Edward.

It all started three months ago. Alice, my publicist, had called and asked Edward and I to visit some club that her boyfriend, Jasper, was playing at…

"Birdie, over here," Alice cried as I entered the smoke filled room. Birdie was the nickname that Alice and I used when I was in public to avoid recognition. Alice thought it was ingenious – bird, swan - but it annoyed the hell out of me and she knew it. Of course, I understood its necessity, but still, as I've said, it annoys the hell out of me.

Edward was behind me and I heard him snicker at the nickname. Fucker. It probably didn't help my mood that I was wearing the scratchiest wig on the planet. I scratched my head again and slowed down, so that Edward would bump into me.

"You did that on purpose," Edward said as he ran into my backside.

"Prove it," I taunted. Instead, he pulled my wig. I scrambled to adjust it. "Stop it," I hissed. Damn, everything was pissing me off tonight.

"Make me," he childishly replied; I could see the humor in his eyes. Suddenly, part of me wanted to shock the hell out of him and kiss him, but I knew that would end badly – mainly with Edward leaving. He'd never shown that kind of interest in me, and it took me a while, but I had finally accepted that he never would. He was my friend – just my friend. So, I pushed my romantic feelings aside and smarted back at him.

"Fucker," I finally said out loud.

"Bitch," he immediately responded, though he gave me an odd look. I knew I had taken too long to respond initially. He could always sense when things were off with me.

I rolled my eyes and let my mind wander back to my previous thoughts about the lack of romantic interest from Edward. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. I'd think about his lack of interest and get into banter of 'friendly nastiness.' And, as always, I took what was offered – greedily, I might add. Any interaction with Edward made my heart sing. Man, I was a complete fucking sap.

I looked up and caught Alice looking at me. Shit. I must have the lovesick look that she keeps referencing on my face again because she sent me a pity filled glance, which further pissed me off. I took a deep breath and plastered a semi-fake smile on my face.

"Alice," I greeted her. Her reply was in the form of a cocked eyebrow. Insightful bitch. Man, I was in a mood tonight. "Where's Jasper?"

"Alice," Edward greeted her before she could answer me.

"Edward," she responded in acknowledgement. "Jasper is back with the band already. He won't be back until after their set. So, I guess you'll just have to put up with little ole' me."

"Great," I sarcastically muttered under my breath - just what I needed - Alice's poignant and insightful comments stated at the most inopportune time to make my night complete.

Alice leaned back and whispered in my ear, "I heard that." I gave her my fakest smile and batted my eyelashes. "You know," she said, "I'm not sure why people think you are such a great actress when you pull crap like that." With that zinger, she batted _her _eyelashes and walked back to the table they had reserved for us. As I said – bitch - but she's my bitch.

Edward pulled out a chair for me and I sat down beside Alice. Within seconds a waitress showed up and took our drink orders.

"Gin and diet tonic," I requested. I noticed that she gave me a searching look, but if she recognized me, she didn't let on. I took a deep breath. Either she was a nice person or the atypical garb and wig were working.

"So, Edward," Alice began with a smirk in my direction, "How's _Birdie_ been lately?"

Edward snorted and played along. "_Birdie_ has been great. She's finished her latest project and is ready for her vacation."

"_Birdie_ is right here, assholes!" I snarled, which, of course, was the wrong thing to do. I played right into their farking hands. You'd think after six years of this I'd catch a clue, but, apparently, I haven't.

"Yes, but _Birdie_ hasn't given me a straight answer during my last three phone calls, so I had to take matters into my own hands. Thus, _Birdie_, I felt the need to ask your other half." Alice nastily replied with the bitchy reference to Edward and our friendship.

"Well, maybe," I started, "If my publicist wasn't always calling and hounding me all the time, she'd get the answers she wanted." Let her chew on that greasy fat.

"Yes and maybe," Alice began, but was cut off by Edward.

"Ladies, tonight is about Jasper. You have a meeting tomorrow morning – put up your dukes there, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. 'Fine."

"Fine, but this isn't over, _Birdie_," Alice assured me.

"I'd be absolutely heartbroken if it was."

"Bella," Edward leaned in and whispered. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He pulled back to look at my face, but I couldn't stand the intensity. My emotions had just become too strong. I simply shook my head, pulled away, and looked to the stage. I heard Edward sigh and felt him pull away. A few minutes later, he pushed his chair back and walked away.

"You're going to lose him with the bitchy attitude." Alice confidently said. "You're acting like a fucking diva. Keep it up and you'll lose him."

I fought the tears. I knew she was right. Unfortunately, Alice saw the tears because she quickly turned and pulled me close. "Oh, Bella," she whispered.

I broke down. "I don't know what to do. I love him. I love him so much." I started to silently cry.

Alice pulled me a little closer. "You have to tell him." I simply nodded. I knew I could never do that. I was too chicken shit afraid that I'd lose him completely. I sat there for a while and just was. I stopped all thoughts and allowed my self to calm down. I started to pull away, but Alice had one more thing to say.

"Bella," she quietly, but firmly said again, "You have to tell him." I nodded and gave my eyes one last brief rub with my hands.

And that was when Edward Cullen – man of my dreams – walked up and introduced us to Rosalie Hale. A beautiful woman that made me want to retch. Loudly. She was blonde, buxom, and absolutely fucking gorgeous.

I hated her instantly.

And, if the look she was giving me was anything to go by, I was pretty sure it was a mutual feeling. Man, this evening just kept getting better and better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of the Twilight series. No harm is intended. **

_A/N: I expect to update once a week. Hope you enjoy! _

The rest of the night was just as I envisioned – pure hell.

Edward actually introduced me as Bella Swan. Thankfully, he did it quietly, but I still wanted to smack him. Why the hell was he letting this…this…this _Rosalie_ (what kind of name was that, anyway?) know who I was? We had an understanding. No one let out the secret of who I am when we go out. Ever. He then, after seeing the shock on my face, went on to quickly explain that he did it because Rosalie was going to be joining our little group as his new art agent.

Well fuck. Ding dong the witch's heart is dead. I'm pretty sure that my heart just broke. I turned my head away from the blonde witch-bitch and I noticed that Alice was looking oddly at me, which made me wonder if they had actually heard it break. God knows I could feel it cracking apart piece by piece in my chest. The pain choking me.

I mean, surely it wasn't just me. Anyone with a brain could see that Rosalie was after Edward. And let's be logical here, I'd had how many years to win his heart? This was definitely the water to my witch. I should just break out in a crazy ass cackle and exit stage left.

It probably would have gone better if I had. But, stupid me, I stayed. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

As the next twenty minutes progressed, several things were glaringly apparent: Rosalie, the art agent, was sweet to Alice; flirty with Edward; and a first class (some one with a French manicure like hers couldn't be considered less than first class in my opinion) bitch to me. Even Alice gave me several surprised looks whenever Rosalie actually bothered to respond to me.

"So, Rosalie," I politely asked, "What galleries do you have lined up for Edward's art?"

"The important ones," she curtly responded.

Well then. And you want to know the bitch of it all? Edward freaking laughed at her response, which made her go all gooey eyed at him and giggle. Gag. Me. With. A. Spoon. Blegh.

Thankfully, Jasper's band soon took the stage and I could revel in Rosalie's silence. I caught Edward's eye a few times, but, for the most part, he seemed to focus on Rosalie. About fifteen minutes into Jasper's set, and, to my utter horror, I saw Edward grab Rosalie's hand under the table and rub circles on the back of her hand. No flipping way. That was something he did with me. ME! It was our thing, wasn't it? I felt tears coming on – again. God, I hated weepy women. What the hell is wrong with me?

I needed to clear my head. Pushing back from the table, I turned my head and gave Alice what I hoped was a significant, self-explanatory look. She seemed to understand because she gave me a slight nod followed by the pitiful look that I was becoming far too accustomed to. I so didn't need that look.

Taking my time in the bathroom, I checked my wig (only a slight adjustment needed), my lipstick (a little more color never hurt anyone, right?), and dried my eyes. Man, it was to the point that I wondered if my monthly pal was about to visit for a few days. When I got home, I was definitely checking the calendar.

Walking back to the table, I stopped briefly to look at the scene before me. Edward, as always, was breathtaking. His hair, an unusual mixture of reds and browns, was flying in all different directions. I shuddered in absolute horror when I saw that the…the…fucking art agent bitch had her hands in my Ed…in his hair. I had to physically stop myself from running over there and smacking her pretty face up by clenching and unclenching my fists. How dare she touch him – his hair! How dare she? Ugh, and it just kept getting worse. I wanted to fucking scream at her when she threw her head back and laughed incessantly at something he said. Could she be anymore obvious? I took a deep breath before I lost my f'ing cookies.

Just as I was about to continue my return to our table, Alice said something that looked intense. She was holding Edward's gaze; he was returning her gaze just as intensely. He murmured something back and the look of shock on Alice's face was almost humorous. She didn't reply, but her gaze moved to Rosalie. Rosalie gave her a polite smile and then stared directly at me – with a smirk firmly in place. That caused everyone else to turn their gaze my way. Great. I took another deep breath. Seriously – this night was for shit.

As I approached our table, Alice caught my gaze, gave me an interesting look, and rolled her eyes.

"Eddie," Rosalie purred, "Would you mind taking me home? It is getting late and I need to get up early and make a few phone calls to Europe."

Edward, polite as always, agreed to take her home, gave me a very unsatisfactory goodbye, waved to Alice, and helped Rosalie to her feet.

"Will I see you later on?" I asked, not quite sure if I really wanted the answer.

"Umm, I'm not sure," Edward responded, as Rosalie gave her own response.

"Not if I can help it," Rosalie stated emphatically.

Edward turned surprised eyes to Rosalie, laughed, and gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek. Rosalie comically batted her eyelashes, crinkled her nose (a nose that I was currently considering punching) and grinned at him.

"Ready?" she asked before I could say anything more. That said, she hooked her arm to his and pulled him away.

Well fuck, that was Hurricane Rosalie and I was just blown off at 100 miles per hour.

I turned my gaze to Alice, but she refused to look at me. Again, before I could say more (this just wasn't my night), Jasper arrived and had her full attention. Knowing I just needed to go home I stood up to leave.

"Before you go," Alice said, "I think you might want to consider – strongly – what I said earlier. TELL HIM."

I gave her a glare, told her that I would see her in the morning before I left for vacation, and walked out the back door to my waiting car.

What the hell had just happened to my life?

The next morning was no better. I realized that Edward had indeed stayed away – not even a phone call or text. I was beside myself with jealousy. I also wanted to scratch a certain person's eyes out. Meow.

I left for Alice's office on time and, believe it or not, actually arrived five minutes early. To my surprise, Edward was there. And he was arguing with Alice.

Weird. In all the years that I had known them, I had never seen Edward and Alice argue over anything. I pushed open the door to the plush office and was instantly noticed by Alice. She gave Edward a meaningful glance towards me and they both got quiet.

I arched my eyebrow in a silent question, but it was ignored.

"Wow!" Alice exclaimed, "Someone must be impatient to go on vacation. I don't think you've ever been early to one of our meetings."

I shrugged. I had been impatient to go on vacation, but I was thinking that maybe Edward wasn't going to go with me now, so I had lost some of my excitement. Hell, I'd lost almost all of it.

"Come on, Bella," Edward said with a slight smile, "We've been planning this for almost three months. I thought you were excited about this?"

"You're still going?" I asked, surprise lacing my tone.

"Ummm, yeah," he replied, giving me an incredibly odd look; his eyes questioning me.

"I just figured that you would be too busy preparing for all your upcoming shows," I replied with another shrug.

"Oh," Edward said with a smile, "I took care of that yesterday and made arrangements for Rosalie to join us."

What…the…fuck. This better be a joke, a big fucking joke.

No, not a joke – one look at his happy face confirmed that. I looked to Alice, who turned to Edward.

"Ummm, shouldn't you have asked Bella first?"

"Why? It's my vacation, too. Can't I invite someone? You don't mind, do you, Bella?"

My mother, Renee, had always taught me that if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all. I took it one step further. I turned and walked out the glass doors that I had entered barely five minutes before.

As the doors closed behind me, I heard two raised voices – Edward's and Alice's. I was too hurt to really catch what they were saying. I just needed to get the hell out of here.

Sliding into the back of my car, I asked Jacob, my driver, to please drive me to the airport. There was no way in hell that I was going on vacation with Agent Bitch. So, quickly, I decided to go to the airport, buy an updated plane ticket, and just head to my house in North Carolina. Hopefully, by the time everyone else was in Treasure Cay, they wouldn't care that I hadn't joined them and I could sort my thoughts out.

As we pulled away from the building, Jacob asked me if I needed anything. Stupidly, I asked him if he had a shoulder I could cry on. He smiled and assured me that his shoulders were sturdy and available. I smiled and asked him to join me in North Carolina.

Apparently, I was committed to fucking up my life. Royally fucking it up.

_TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still don't own. *sigh* **

It had been three days since that fateful day in Alice's office. I had, indeed, flown to North Carolina with Jake - and I was screwed….

"Are you sure you want me to go with you?" Jake had asked as I told him to park the car.

"I asked you, didn't I?"

"Well, yes, but you don't quite seem yourself."

Ugh. I hated it when people tried to psychoanalyze me and shit. "Look – you can either come with me and enjoy a vacation, or you can stay here and do whatever you normally do; your choice, Jacob, but I can assure you that I am going with or without you."

Jacob actually considered that fact for a few moments before giving me a small laugh and saying, "How often can someone say that a famous Hollywood actress asked them to vacation with her? Hell yeah, I'm in!"

I knew he was smart. "Now, you're thinking," I retorted as I pulled my hoodie up around my head - wishing that I had my wig from the night before - and put on my sunglasses, the biggest ones that I could find in Los Angeles. "Ready?" I asked after I did a last minute sanity check on the hoodie in the rearview mirror. Jacob nodded and we both got out of the car.

Twenty minutes later, we had tickets (mine modified from Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, Bahamas) to Charlotte, North Carolina. When I had asked for the tickets to the big NC, Jacob had given me an odd look at the destination. I had simply shrugged and quietly said that I'd explain later. Somehow, I got the feeling he wasn't happy with our destination. Tough, overcooked cookies with sprinkles on top.

Soon, we were on the plane and enjoying first class. Bring on the Jack Daniels! After I turned off my cell phone and shot my first JD, I turned to Jacob and said, "So, I bet you're wondering what's in North Carolina, huh?"

"Well, you had mentioned earlier about North Carolina, but I guess I figured you were talking the beach area."

I nodded, completely understanding why he would think that, and responded, "Too many people. As it is, we're not really going to Charlotte, either. My roommate in college is from a town called Hickory. There's a lake there – Lake Hickory. We spent part of our summers there water skiing and learning about life. Damn – that sounded like the Kid Rock song, didn't it? Anyway, when I finally had enough money, I bought a house out there. Leah, the ex-roomie, still meets me there when I can work it into my schedule and she's free." Just thinking about that time of my life and Leah brought a big smile to my face. I looked over and saw Jake grinning at me.

"Sounds perfect," he politely responded with a smile. I noticed that his smile was genuine. That everything about Jacob seemed genuine, which I had always found to be an attractive trait.

"Well, I think so. Which reminds me, I should call Leah when we land – see if she's free."

The rest of the plane ride was made in silence. Jacob napping in his seat and I tried to think about anything but Edward. So, instead, I thought about the man beside me. He was, I thought, really quite handsome – the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. I had noticed earlier that he was well over six feet tall, which was massive compared to my below average 5'4". He had an olive complexion that, in other circumstances, might have caused my heart to go pitter patter. Unfortunately, Edward had caught my heart years ago. It almost made me wish that he hadn't. Edward had ruined me for all others – even when I knew he was interested in someone else.

Well, I thought, this is officially pathetic. Even finding other men attractive made me think about Edward. As I said, pathetic. I signaled the flight attendant for another Jackie D. Maybe drinking myself into oblivion would stop the Edward thoughts – hey, a girl can hope, right?

Thankfully, I have little to no tolerance to alcohol. I quickly got inebriated, and stopped because, let's be honest, I was thinking of Edward more. I was thinking about his lips on mine. I could just imagine their soft warmth firmly planting themselves on mine. And his hands touching me – cupping my check, running down my jaw, finding my collarbone, and…never mind, it was much, much worse. So, I stopped drinking alcohol and sucked down two bottles of water.

When we got off the plane four hours later, I was just a little happier than normal instead of three sheets to the wind. And, considering Jacob had no idea where we were going, that was probably a good thing.

I had Jacob rent us a car, and we set off down 321. I learned that Jacob was really easy to be around. We talked. We didn't. It didn't matter. It worked – none of that uncomfortable shit.

So an hour and half later, we turned right onto Grace Chapel Road. A fifteen minute, twisty drive later, and we were parking at my house on Lake Hickory.

"Wow!" Jacob eloquently said.

"Not what you were expecting, is it?" I said, humor lacing my voice.

"Not at all," he assured me. This is why I liked Jacob. Blunt, honest, and easy to talk to – I was glad that I had asked him along.

"Well, there's a grocery store just down the road in Bethlehem. We can head there first and get some food and toiletries."

"And the clothes aspect?" Jacob inquired.

"Eh, we only really need bathing suits and I have those."

"Um, look, not to be rude or anything, but I'm not keen on wearing other people's swimming trunks. That's a bowl full of nasty in my books."

With a chuckle, I nodded, "No worries. I keep new ones here for when people unexpectedly drop by. Leah has a HUGE family. You have no idea"

Jacob laughed. "Cool."

"Well, come on," I said, as I pushed the door open to my little oasis of heaven.

Three days later, I still had not checked my cell phone. At this point, the sight of it almost gave me a panic attack. I could only imagine the voicemail that was waiting for me from Alice, my agents…maybe even Edward. Okay, so I was hoping on the last one. I know that he had Rosalie with him in the Bahamas, but, again, there isn't a law against hoping, right? Right….

I had, however, gone boating with Jacob every day. Hell, he had even made the moves on me. The best part? We laughed after he did it. We understood each other – friendship. And, in that way, I did love him. And, furthermore, completely understanding that important knowledge of ourselves and each other allowed us to quickly become inseparable – including me teaching him how to water ski, which was f'ing priceless. Priceless, I'm telling you. Apparently physics for a "five footer" and a "six footer" are two very different things.

Honestly, we had a lot of fun – until about an hour ago. What changed? Well, an hour ago, Alice had (somehow) called Jacob and let him know that they were "on to us." So, "on to us," apparently, that we could expect visitors within ten hours - visitors that included Edward, Agent Bitch, and Alice.

Fuck me on a pogo stick upside down…I'm screwed like vodka, lemonade, and cranberry juice shaken – and maybe a little stirred.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, author alert additions, and story alert additions! They keep me writing!

Disclaimer: Don't own. So Sad for me.

Five hours into our ten hour countdown to the arrival of Edward, Agent Bitch, and Alice, the doorbell rang. Jacob looked at me with his eyebrow arched in an unasked question. It was easy to see that he thought that I knew who was at the door. I shook my head in a negative manner, shrugged, and got up to answer the door. Damn, I really hope it isn't the f'ing paps. I really wasn't in the mood for their antics.

I slightly pulled back the striped curtain and looked at the front door – relieved, momentarily, to realize that it was Leah, my college roommate. I lunged for the door to let her in only realizing as I opened it that Alice had probably sent her. Shit.

"Girl, you have done it now," was Leah's blunt greeting to me, as she further pushed open the door and strutted in. As Jacob walked into the room, she followed with, "And what a fine specimen of male you are, dearie, but that doesn't answer the question of what the hell are you thinking, Bella?"

Jacob snorted a laugh. Traitor. I responded the only way I knew how, "Don't encourage her – this is nothing." Which only made Jacob laugh harder.

"Oh, trust me," was Leah's quick response, "This is definitely something, girlfriend. What the hell are you thinking? All these years, all I've heard is how fucking much you love the Ed-Man, and then you run off with the chauffer ? No offense. What the hell? Are you on crack? You can tell me, really. My uncle is a doctor at a local hospital. I can make some calls and get you the help you need by tonight – just say the word. Don't worry, you can trust him. He's –"

"Will you stop?" I interjected loudly. "Shit! Do you want to know why I did what I did or do you want to call your fucking uncle for no reason, because I sure as hell am not taking crack, heroin, or mary-J-wanna…"

Leah looked at me, laughed at my stupid joke, and said, "Well, you can't blame a girl for wondering. You have to understand that this doesn't seem to make a lot of sense."

I sighed. I thought it made a lot of sense, so I told her so. "Well, I thought it made a lot of sense."

Leah looked at me like I was fucking crazy. "Are you fucking crazy? What about any of this makes any sense?"

Well, I have to hand it to her – she was straight-freaking-forward. No questions about what she was thinking at any given moment. "Jacob, would you mind giving us a minute?" I asked.

"No," he responded. "Go right ahead." He even gave me a polite hand gesture to signal that I could continue.

So, I gave him a hand gesture that told him to fuck off. Laughing, he walked down the hall. Seconds later, we heard a door shut.

Once Leah took her eyes off his admittedly fine behind, she said, "Nice, isn't he? But first, what makes sense? Because I really need to know."

I snorted – loudly. "Leah, I've known Edward since I was little. Growing up, he was my everything. As I got older, he was still my everything. One day, while I was sitting around watching a movie with him, I looked at him. You know, really looked at him. It wasn't anything overly special, probably something that I'd done a million times before. He was just laughing at the movie. He threw his head back and practically guffawed. And I knew that I wanted him. I wanted to know him in every way. I wanted him to always be there. I just – wanted."

Leah nodded in understanding. Hell, she'd probably heard that part of the story before. "Right. Right. So, you do the crazy shit act three days ago because?"

"Because I can't be there and watch him with this Agent Bitch – Rosalie, or whatever her name is. I can't. I can't watch him laugh with her, touch her. Whatever. I can't. So, I decided to take a vacation from him – and her. I needed time to think, to come to terms with the fact that my dreams aren't going to come true."

"Oh, Boo-fucking-hoo, cry me a river and all that bullshit, Bella. You didn't become a great actress by walking away. You became a great actress by working hard and earning your place in life. By proving yourself worthy - so, here's a small bit of advice – _earn _the Ed-man. Fucking make him want you. Make him yours. But for God's sake, quit playing the victim and stop being stupid."

I opened my mouth to reply and closed it again. This continued several more times. I didn't know what to say.

Apparently, however, Leah wasn't done with rocking my world because she wasn't quite done. "You can't expect him to just fall in your lap. Instead, push him. Be yourself. Be Bella. And you are much more likely to succeed. Now, it's time for me to go talk with that hunk of burning love –Jacob - in the other room. Based on our discussion, I'll assume you won't care if I go _earn_ him and try to get a workout or two in."

Bella laughed as Leah walked out of the room.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in my room. I had a lot to think about. In the end, I had decided that I was behaving like a bratty child who had their toy taken away. It was time for me to act like an adult. And the first part of that would include having dinner ready for everyone when they arrived – I'm not sure why. It just was what I decided. So, I did.

Twenty minutes later, I was rolling out the dough for my famous chicken pie casserole, roasting the chicken, and caramelizing two onions.

"Whoa, look at you being all domestic and shit." Jacob said as he walked into the kitchen; Leah was hot on his cute little heals.

"Why don't you go fuck off," I smartly replied as I pulled a casserole dish from under the oven.

"Oh! Me! Me! Pick me!" Leah said, grabbing onto Jacob's arm as he laughed, pulled her under his arm, and hugged her tight.

"You deserve each other." I cattily responded to Leah's disgusting attempt at humor.

"Much like I deserve you, dear Bella?" Leah asked, pulling Jacob to the table, pushing him into a chair and sitting down in his lap. I rolled my eyes.

I ignored the nauseating couple until I put my casserole into the oven. "There," I said, "Forty-five minutes until your taste buds will love me." I took a seat across from them.

Leah, bitch that she is, remarked, "Ooh, then, I hope Ed-man gets here soon."

I extended my middle finger to her.

"Promises, Promises!" she sassed back.

"Jacob, I think Leah needs to get laid," I said, trying to take the focus off me and Edward's pending arrival.

"Hell, Bella, I think that was apparent a while ago." Jacob said.

"So, why don't you go do something about it? You have," I looked at the timer, "Forty-two minutes to get her off."

Leah stood up, pulled Jacob up, and said as she walked out of the room, "Thanks. I didn't want this to be awkward or anything. So, now that we have your permission, we're going to get to know one another. Oh, don't come looking for us, no matter what you might hear." She turned to Jacob and explained further, "I scream – a lot."

I put my head on the table and laughed. God, I loved my friends.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm writing furiously because I will be going on a three week vacation with no internet in the near future. I'm going to try to finish this story before I leave, but I'm making no promises. Furthermore, I will be unavailable this weekend; please don't expect another update until well into next week. _

_Again, thank you for adding me to your alerts and for your reviews. I appreciate every single one of them. I thank you for sticking with me as my plot unfolds. _

**Disclaimer: Still don't own. Sniff. Sniff. **

I had just finished putting the final touches on my dining room table when the doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath, I started towards the front of the house. As I entered the foyer, the doorbell rang again.

"Bella, you better answer this damn door!" Alice cried from the other side. She was now furiously knocking instead of ringing the doorbell.

"Sheesh, I'm coming. I'm coming," I said as I opened the door.

As soon as there was enough room, Alice brushed by me and let me know quite eloquently that I, apparently, sucked. Thankfully, her little escapade was enough to keep my eyes off the others still standing at the door – Edward and Rosalie.

"Bella," the warm, masculine voice greeted me, pulling my attention from Alice.

I turned to him – them- and put on a smile. "Edward, Rosalie, nice of you to visit."

Rosalie snorted.

"May we come in," Edward asked – ever the gentleman.

"Yes, yes, sorry. I've got a lot on my mind." I really hadn't meant to be rude. As I had decided earlier, I recognized that I was acting like a brat. I needed to give Rosalie a chance, especially if she was going to be part of Edward's life.

Rosalie snorted again. For a moment the brat in me returned and I gave serious thought to smacking her, but then I thought about it. There was no sense in pissing Edward off from the start – might want or need to save something for later.

I closed the door behind them and followed them into the family room off the kitchen. Edward, of course, knew the way.

I offered an olive branch for Rosalie, "Come in. Come in. Have a seat. I've started dinner; everything should be ready in about ten minutes. If you want to freshen up, you can use the half bath just under the stairs or the bath upstairs – it's the second door on the left. If you need anything else, let me know."

Edward said thanks, allowed Rosalie to take the downstairs bathroom, and then headed upstairs.

"Can I help?" Alice asked, following me into the kitchen.

"Sure," I responded. "Grab the glasses and get everyone some water from the refrigerator." She nodded and picked up the stack of glasses sitting on the counter. Once she had set a cup at every setting, she grabbed the pitcher of water and started pouring. I turned and pulled the casserole out of the warm oven.

"You know, we thought you were already in the Bahamas." Alice quietly said.

"Let's have dinner first, okay? I just want to enjoy dinner and then we can talk." I really hoped that Alice agreed.

"Okay," Alice said as she placed the pitcher on the table. Moving away from the table, she stopped and stood beside me as I divided the casserole into portions. She leaned a little closer and whispered, "Just know that I'm on your side."

"There aren't sides, Alice," I whispered back. "I need to give Rosalie a chance if she's going to be a part of Edward's life – our lives."

Alice got an incredibly odd look on her face, looked like she was going to say something, and then just nodded her agreement. She turned to leave, took a few steps away from me, turned back to me, opened and closed her mouth a few times, took a deep breath, and turned away from me again. She walked towards the front of the house.

Weird. Weird. Weird. I'm starting to think we've all lost our damn minds.

I stuck a spatula in the casserole and carried it over to the dinner table. Then, I grabbed the bowl of salad out of the refrigerator with two bottles of salad dressing and placed them on the table. "Dinner is ready!" I yelled and took my seat at one end of the table. Cooking made me hungry!

Alice quietly walked back into the room and set down to my left. Rosalie arrived and sat to my right. Edward was a few seconds later and sat beside Rosalie. Just as I was about to get up and go knock on Jacob's door, Leah and Jacob walked into the room. And, to make things really lively, Leah and Jacob were both buttoning their shirts. Nice.

"Well, dig in," I said as I picked up the salad, put some on my salad plate, and passed it to Alice.

"This looks great, Bella," Leah said as she took the first portion out of the chicken pie casserole and passed it to Jacob.

"Yeah, Bells, it looks fantastic." Jacob assured me; I gave him a big smile.

"Her name is Bell-a, not bells," Edward suddenly spoke up. I gave him an odd look, but said nothing.

Jacob grinned, gave a rather odd look to Leah, and said, "Ah, she likes it when I call her Bells, don't you, _Bells_?" Leah reached over and flicked him on the arm.

"It's fine." I said.

"Really?" Edward prompted. "Because I distinctly remember you telling me that you hated it when people called you Isabella, Bells, or Isa."

"It's fine, Edward. Jacob's just playing around and being goofy, aren't you, Jacob?"

"Mhhmm-hmmm," was Jacob's only response, mainly because Leah was shoving a fork full of my casserole into his mouth. He swallowed and looked like he had more to say, but after a significant look from Leah, he concentrated on his plate.

The rest of the meal was completed in a lot of silence. Alice asked a few questions here and there about my upcoming schedule, but nothing too heavy. I responded with simple answers because I was too busy watching everyone else. Nasty looks were being passed all around the table. Alice glared at Edward. Edward glared back. Rosalie glared at Edward and Alice. Leah glared at Rosalie. Jacob glared at Edward. After about five minutes of this crap, I kept my eyes on my plate because I was starting to feel like I was missing something that everyone else was privy to – and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

Just as I was about to ask if anyone wanted some ice cream for dessert, my doorbell rang. I stood up to get the door, but Jacob jumped up and offered to make sure that it wasn't the paparazzi or some crazy fan. I followed him to the door and laughed when I saw who it was.

"Emmett, you crazy stalker, what are you doing here?"

"I came to harass my favorite famous neighbor. She's pretty hot, you know!" he said as he pushed past Jacob and pulled me up into a bone crushing hug.

"Emmett! Air, I need air!" I laughed as he put me back on the floor. Soon afterwards, Edward was in the foyer shaking hands with Emmett.

"Emmett, how's it going?" Edward asked, motioning Rosalie into the foyer.

"Eh, I ain't complaining…yet. But give me a couple of days and I'm sure I can think of something," Emmett replied.

'Emmett, I would like for you to meet Rosalie Hale, my publicist and close – uh - friend," Edward said.

Emmett's mouth dropped open when he set eyes on Rosalie. "Uh, nice to – uh – meet you, Rosalie."

And I know I said I was going to try to be nice to Rosalie, but when she batted her eyelashes, blushed, and held her hand out to Emmett like she was expecting him to kiss it, I wanted to…to…something. That was until I looked at Edward. He seemed completely taken aback at her demeanor. Then, I _knew_ that I wanted to pull her fucking hair out. By the roots. How DARE she do that in front of Edward? Bitch.

I must have unconsciously taken a step forward because Alice grabbed my arm, pulled me back, and shook her head in a negative manner to me, as the introductions continued.

Taking a deep breath, I turned and asked everyone to follow me into the kitchen for ice cream. For a moment, I actually thought Emmett was going to run me over, instead he brushed past me and threw open the freezer door.

"Hot damn! Bella, girl, I knew I loved you for a reason. Give me a big bowl, I love me some Turtle Soup. Yummm-mmm-mmy!"

Emmett helped me get seven bowls of ice cream ready for everyone. Of course, he only did it so that he could lick the spoon and the lid of the ice cream container.

"Emmett, that is flat out ass-tastic. Seriously. Now, I have to put that lid back on the container with your cooties on it."

"Uh-uh, that is me thinking ahead. You see, I will be MORE than happy to take it home at the end of the evening. So, of course, you won't be subjected to my _ass-tastic_ cooties." He tapped his head with his index finger and winked. "See…as I said, thinking ahead."

"You are a goof." I said as I stuck the ice cream back in the freezer.

"But I'm a smart goof," he assured me. "Now, let's get this served – I need some Turtle Soup. Hey, don't take that one. It has an extra scoop – for me!"

"You snooze, you lose, smart _goof_ boy."

"You are such a bitch," he said as he followed me into the dining room.

I giggled and shrugged, "I know."

After the ice cream and an hour and a half of conversation, Emmett went home (with his Turtle Soup), but assured me that he'd be back in the morning to take all of us out on his pontoon boat, which everyone seemed pretty stoked about.

"Well, I hope you don't think we're rude or anything, but Jake and I are ready to hit the hay." Leah stood and beckoned Jacob to follow.

"Night," Jacob quickly said as he trailed after Leah.

"Ummm, Rosalie, would you mind grabbing the last of the dishes for me," Alice asked as she picked several of the bowls near her.

"Jesus Christ, Alice, stack them together and take them yourself! This is hardly a two person job!" Rosalie snapped.

Alice rolled her eyes and looked meaningfully at Edward.

"Rosalie," he said, "Do you mind giving us a minute? I need to speak with Bella."

"Sure," she said and stood up. After taking a look at Alice, she exclaimed as she walked out of the room, "Was that what you wanted? For me to leave the room for them to talk? Fuck, why can't people just say what they mean? If people around here would do that more often or, I don't know, _ever_, less drama would happen."

And with that, Rosalie Hale left us alone for the first time since she entered our lives.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Thanks everyone! Hope you enjoy! **_

"I'm…" I began at the same time that Edward started speaking.

"I'm sor-…" Edward began.

We both stopped and smiled at each other. I was relieved that it felt normal – that I could do this. I could still interact and joke with my _friend, _Edward.

"You first," I offered. I figured I could be gracious as long as we could find a way to be a part of each others lives. In the end, that's what really mattered to me and, hopefully, Edward, too.

He nodded his agreement to go first and immediately grabbed my right hand. He looked intensely at it for a moment, flipped it over, and began rubbing a circular motion on my palm with his thumb. It almost pissed me off at how easily he could calm me; how much power he had over me, but then I looked into his eyes and all that frustration disappeared. Again, what mattered was Edward being in my life.

"I'm sorry," Edward said, looking me in the eyes.

Okay, I wasn't expecting that. What in the hell was he apologizing for? I was the one that had run off with Jacob. Refused to even give Rosalie a chance – he wasn't the one, in my books, that should be apologizing. So, I said as such.

"Edward, you aren't the one that needs to apologize. I am. I behaved like a spoilt child – an immature, spoilt child. And I am very sorry for that. Rest assured that I will behave while you are here with Rosalie. Heck, I'll even get to know her. Anyone important to you is important to me. Okay? So, I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. Really sorry."

Edward chuckled, shook his head and said, "I thought you wanted me to go first."

I blushed. "Sorry – again – a completely different sorry, you know, but sorry." God, I was jumbling my words like a first class fucking moron. So, I just shut up and waited for him to continue.

When he stopped smiling, he once again looked to my hand and the circles that he was rotating on my palm with his thumb. His expression became more somber and it began to make me uncomfortable.

"Edward?" I prompted.

He seemed to pull himself from his internal musings and gave me a half smile. His gaze returned to my hand, but this time he began to speak, "I owe you a huge apology, as I said."

I was about to interrupt him again and remind him that it was me that should be apologizing, but he gave me a rather irritated look, so I quickly closed my mouth. No need to piss him off further, right? Although, I had to admit that that seemed to be my specialty lately regarding Edward.

He continued, "As I said, I owe you a huge apology."

I raised my eyebrows in a silent question – hoping for an explanation, because I still didn't understand. I really wanted to say something, but somehow found the strength to keep my sarcastic comments to myself – for now.

"Rosalie is my agent, Bella."

I couldn't hold it in any longer, although it came out a bit harsher than I truly intended, "I fucking _know_ that, Edward; I was there when you introduced her to us. Remember? Look, I was just taken aback when you introduced us to Rosalie, okay? I _promise_ to be nice and give her a chance. I promise, Edward." I was trying really hard to sound nice and sincere. I'm not sure if it worked.

Edward rubbed a palm across his face, took a deep breath and continued as if I hadn't interrupted him again, "Rosalie is my agent, Bella. My art agent - she sets up my art in galleries all over the world, calls me to tell me the logistics of the galleries, and then makes sure that things run smoothly. That's it, nothing more. She's _just_ my art agent."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before anything actually came out - partly because I was processing what Edward said versus what Edward meant by this profound confession and partly because I simply could not form a cohesive comment to this statement. Yes, it seems I can be dumbfounded. Even when I was finally able to make noise, it was just a loud puff of air passing through my lips. After a few more tries (and seconds), I simply closed my mouth and looked to Edward. Apparently, there are no words.

He took another deep breath – not quite a full sigh – and continued, "This is why I owe you a huge apology. I allowed you to think that Rosalie was…was…more than an art agent. To – uh – me. She isn't. Well, she's my friend. But just my friend. And art agent. She's _just_ my friend and my art agent. Just…fuck."

He ran a hand through his hair in that incredibly sexy way that always makes my heart rate increase. It was almost enough to make me forget what he just told me. But then he continues and I don't…can't forget. In fact, I think I found that hand basket that is always going to hell.

But he doesn't stop there either; it just keeps getting worse….

"Damn it, Bella, I don't even know where to begin."

Before I can filter it, my initial reply flies snidely out of my mouth, "You might want to try starting at the beginning. I hear it's a great place to start." Okay, that was a bit bitchier than it probably needed to be, especially with the tone and shit. But – whatever.

Edward laughed. Good. He still remembered that I am me. Snide comments and all. "You're probably right."

Well, I am me, so I couldn't stymie my next response either. "Glad you finally realized that. I've been telling you for years how right I _always_ am."

He laughed again. God – I loved this man, especially his laugh. Oh, and his hair. And his abs; they're better than a lot of my co-stars. And his smile. And his – shit. He's talking again and I'm daydreaming. Focus. Focus. Focus.

"Yeah, I should have listened to you years ago, Bells. In fact, if I were to start at the beginning, as you so eloquently suggested, I'd have to go back to that day we were sitting on the swings at the local playground. You know, the day when we were discussing where we'd be in five, ten, and twenty years?"

I did remember that day. Quite fondly, as the case may be. It was the day that I knew I wanted Edward in my life forever. So, I stupidly nodded to Edward's most likely rhetorical suggestion.

"That was the day I knew."

The confusion must have been evident on my face because he cleared his throat and clarified, "That was the day that I knew that I was in love with you, Bella. Completely and totally in love with you, and I want you forever."

I put my hand over my mouth, gasped in what had to sound like horror and thought – _You have got to be fucking kidding me._


End file.
